Fantasy Football: Recapping running back touches from key backfield splits from Week 12

Just when we thought we were in the clear as Kenneth Walker III and TreVeyon Henderson fantasy football managers … Week 12 reared it’s ugly head. Both the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots backfields have been incredibly frustrating all season long for fantasy. The past few weeks had given us hope for clarity but now, we’re questioning what to do again, as matchups become more and more important and as the playoffs approach.

Let’s take a look at those two backfield splits from Week 12, plus a few other teams, and try to make sense of it all.

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New England Patriots

It felt like the stars were aligning for Henderson in Week 12. The Patriots entered a smash spot against the Cincinnati Bengals, the best matchup in fantasy for opposing running backs. Henderson has had an up-and-down rookie campaign but entered Week 12 coming off two monster performances, combining for nearly 250 total yards, five TDs and over 50 fantasy points in Weeks 10 and 11. And while the volume was still there, the outcome left managers frustrated again.

Henderson finished Week 12 with 21 total touches (three catches) for 81 yards and no scores. Of course, the Bengals decided to do a good job containing the run in this spot, fighting for their lives while their franchise QB Joe Burrow is on the cusp of a return. They did a good job of not allowing explosive plays to Henderson, which played a big part in his previous two games. With Rhamondre Stevenson back, the Patriots also opted to use him in the red zone, which ended up being unproductive.

Outside of the red-zone usage, it was still a pretty encouraging game for Henderson managers. The fantasy points aren’t what you want but with Stevenson back, this is far from the worst-case scenario. Stevenson only had seven touches and Terrell Jennings had just one (a goal-line carry). So this is clearly Henderson’s backfield moving forward. The Pats still have a pretty favorable schedule to wrap the season, so Henderson remains a strong RB2 play with RB1 upside in all fantasy formats.

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Seattle Seahawks

In a tough matchup vs. the Rams in Week 11, Walker came alive with 19 touches for 111 total yards and a score, good for a season-high 18.6 fantasy points. That got us hyped for a Week 12 matchup against the Titans, who entered the week allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to RBs this season. Similar to the Henderson situation, the usage was encouraging enough for Walker but the results fell short.

This was lining up to be the perfect game script for Walker but that wasn’t the case. Plus, Seattle stuck with Zach Charbonnet in the red zone with the backup RB scoring once on six touches for 35 yards. Had those touches simply gone to the better back in Walker, we’re looking at another big game. Instead, Walker finished with 101 total yards on 14 touches. It’s also tough to make a case for more work when your offense has the best wide receiver in the NFL right now in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He posted an 8-167-2 line, including a 63-yard TD.

Walker scoring 11.6 fantasy points wasn’t the end of the world but this felt like a week we’d see his stock continue to rise, rather than being stagnant. He’ll continue to be more of a risky RB2/3 option than a rock-solid RB2. Charb is a volatile TD-dependent flex.

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Chicago Bears

We usually don’t see this type of shift when there’s a perfectly healthy RB in D’Andre Swift, but the veteran had his worst day of the season. Meanwhile, rookie Kyle Monangai is becoming more of a priority in the offense and could see this backfield become his.

In Week 12 vs. the Steelers, we saw Monangai get the majority of the RB touches with the rookie out-touching Swift 12-8 on the ground. Swift got one catch for 14 yards. Monangai turned in 48 yards on the ground and had a touchdown for the third straight week. He finished with 10.8 fantasy points, his fourth double-digit fantasy outing in the past six games.

Considering Swift’s history with head coach Ben Johnson, it’s looking more and more like Monangai is favored on the ground and at the goal line. If that continues, he’s going to be the more appealing back. The issue is the future scope for this Bears team. The offense has been clicking but the schedule gets rough. Here are the upcoming matchups: @ Philly, @ Green Bay, vs. Cleveland, vs. Green Bay and @ San Francisco. The next four games are against defenses in the top half of the league against running backs.

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Swift is getting tougher to trust, looking more like an RB3/flex play, while Monangai is a risky RB2/3 option in most formats. The Bears could be in more negative game scripts for RBs while the passing game has performed well and is clicking.

Green Bay Packers

We’re going to do a quick mention of the Packers and Emanuel Wilson from their Week 12 win over the Vikings at home. With lead back Josh Jacobs (knee) sidelined, it was all Wilson, all day long. The backup RB had 28 carries on the day, tied for third-most by a running back in a game this season. The Packers defense and special teams forced some short fields and Wilson capitalized with two touchdowns. He would finish with 30 total touches (two catches) for 125 total yards (25.5 fantasy points).

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The Packers didn’t need to do much through the air while playing with a lead most of the game. Plus, Jordan Love and the passing game remain inconsistent, in part due to injuries. Chris Brooks, the second-string with Jacobs out, even had nine touches for 26 yards to close out the game.

So long as Jacobs is out, Wilson is a very solid RB2 based on volume alone. The Packers don’t have the easiest upcoming schedule but it’s clear whoever is the lead back will dominate the snaps/touches/goal-line work. If Wilson is for whatever reason still on your waiver wire (available in 34% of leagues), grab him immediately. This performance could convince the Packers to take things slow with Jacobs. It’s rare we find backs with this type of value late in the season off the wire.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Last week felt like a big step forward for rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten. This week we were reminded that play-callers don’t care much for fantasy. Tuten took a very clear backseat to Travis Etienne Jr. in the OT win over the Cardinals in Week 12. Tuten had looked like the better back last week with 74 yards and a score on 15 carries. This week, the hot hand was Etienne, and the Jags stuck with him for 86 yards on 15 carries, including a 45-yard scamper. Etienne dominated the passing-game work with three catches for 30 yards and a TD.

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Tuten has had enough weeks where you know he’s capable of giving you good flex numbers. The problem is you can’t rely on something like that this late in the season. Tuten didn’t do much to help his cause with seven carries for just 17 yards and no catches. He’s relegated back to fringe-flex duty while Etienne is a reliable RB2 option.